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Post by Maolsheachlann on Sept 24, 2018 20:31:17 GMT
I was very disappointed in the film, I must admit-- it might have been good history, but it didn't seem like a strong story to me.
Then again, maybe if I watched it again I would feel differently.
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Post by Séamus on Oct 2, 2018 4:15:42 GMT
By sticking her nose where it is hardly needed, Emma Watson has just given Irish conservatives another reason to avoid the Harry Potter phenomenon. And she's claiming that Northern Ireland's unborn laws predated the light bulb. So does the acting profession....I was surprised to come across, in a comprehensive study on Mary,Queen of Scots that I'm reading, the existence of female jesters, several of which Mary brought from France after the death of husband #1. And a lot of these people would still be a joke, if the subject of their opinions wasn't so serious
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Post by Séamus on Oct 8, 2018 10:00:20 GMT
I read today the obituary of French/Romany circus entertainer Rosa Bouglione, who died a few weeks ago @ 107, whose Cirque d'Hiver in Paris was filmed as part of the 1956 movie TRAPEZE, starring Burt Lancaster,Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida. It doesn't seem to have been the usual 'on the road' affair but, rather, part of the Paris cultural scene for decades. Ingrid Bergman and Marlene Dietrich were regulars. The venue still exists. Rosa(lie) first danced in a lions cage with her circus-father as a teenager "I've always been with lions, with panthers, with wolves, with hyenas. I was never scared"
"She was 17 when she married Joseph Bouglione inside a cage filled with lions, in a ceremony that was a illustrated and featured on French postcards and newspapers covers. The priest performed the ceremony while standing safely outside the cage"
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Post by Séamus on Oct 13, 2018 8:43:28 GMT
However it may be portrayed, it is a pity that Audrey Hepburn was no longer around to give some input to the upcoming QUEEN OF SCOTS film, her surname was taken by her father as part of a spurious claim to be related to James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, third husband of Queen Mary. In contrast to a lot of stars, past or present, it was definitely 'something different' today to read about an interview of Audrey's family members by the Telegraph Group as part of her 25 anniversary year: "she never worried about wrinkles or getting old because, actually, she was looking forward to it- being at home with her children and grandchildren, out of the limelight....I always insisted she should play a villain, my dream was the head of Spectre in 007 with a white cat. But she told me 'I saw enough real life tragedy in the war' " The son she bore Mel Ferrer is named Séan,I suppose because of Mel's mother's Irish ancestry. (Ferrer's portrayal of St John Baptist de LaSalle is,incidentally, considered well enough done to be sold still by church-based suppliers)
Truman Capote complained that he really wanted Marilyn Monroe for the BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S movie adaption. As much as her real life probably fitted Holly Golightly better it's hard to imagine Monroe managing the nuances of the part so well. Hepburn's father being buried in MtJerome cemetery gives Dublin a minor claim on the actress. (my mother has family buried there also)
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Post by Séamus on Nov 24, 2018 9:28:27 GMT
An elderly gentleman, born in the(then) Belgian Congo to British parents,was mentioning last week how the medical systems run there by religious sisters at the time were first class, even if other aspects of society were very much still in development. It somehow brought images to my mind of Audrey Hepburn in full habit and veil looking through a microscope. THE NUNS STORY was pretty accurate in respect to the professionalism of religious training then, even if their psychiatric methods had a way to go.
I read yesterday about the upcoming (8 Dec) beatification of the Trappist monks of Tibhirine Monastery (along with twelve other 1990s Algeria-based martyrs). Unusually, even for the mass media age, their worldwide profile was raised largely through the silver screen, through the 2010 French-made,Grand Prix-(Cannes)-winning, film DES HOMMES ET DES DIEUX, subtitled in English as OF GODS AND MEN. Perhaps the Advent-scheduled date is especially timely. Some memorable scenes took place on Christmas day, notably the meeting between the monastery's superior and the Armed Islamic leader, which ended in an uneasy handshake.
The heavy snowfall in the final scene would have been pretty unexpected to many also.
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Post by Tomas on Nov 24, 2018 12:00:46 GMT
An elderly gentleman, born in the(then) Belgian Congo to British parents,was mentioning last week how the medical systems run there by religious sisters at the time were first class, even if other aspects of society were very much still in development. It somehow brought images to my mind of Audrey Hepburn in full habit and veil looking through a microscope. THE NUNS STORY was pretty accurate in respect to the professionalism of religious training then, even if their psychiatric methods had a way to go. I read yesterday about the upcoming (8 Dec) beatification of the Trappist monks of Tibhirine Monastery (along with twelve other 1990s Algeria-based martyrs). Unusually, even for the mass media age, their worldwide profile was raised largely through the silver screen, through the 2010 French-made,Grand Prix-(Cannes)-winning, film DES HOMMES ET DES DIEUX, subtitled in English as OF GODS AND MEN. Perhaps the Advent-scheduled date is especially timely. Some memorable scenes took place on Christmas day, notably the meeting between the monastery's superior and the Armed Islamic leader, which ended in an uneasy handshake. The heavy snowfall in the final scene would have been pretty unexpected to many also. This film was good, also unusual in a positive sense. To that also personally I have a fond memory of seeing it on cinema screen along with a little group of friends from the parish, including a loving nun (passed away not so long ago) who lived in the closest neighbouring convent in Algeria for about ten years before coming to Sweden. The film depicts the relations between the monks and the muslims in an interesting way. Acting is "simple" but goes down well I think. |
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Dec 25, 2018 17:31:19 GMT
I see that Saving Mr Banks is on BBC 2 at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow. I enthusiastically recommend this film-- I saw it in the cinema and again on the small screen-- a very adult film (in the good sense), dramatising the process whereby the writer of the Mary Poppins books agreed to have them adapted to the big screen by Disney. Tom Hanks plays Walt Disney (brilliantly). Colin Farrell plays the father of the writer, who we see in flashbacks. I found it very moving, very tender, occasionally gut-wrenching, and cathartic on the whole.
I'm very interested in the way fictions interact with reality. The whole theme of Saving Mr. Banks is the way the author's family history plays out in her fiction, and what is at stake for her in this. Anyway, you might give it a look.
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Post by Séamus on Feb 11, 2019 8:37:15 GMT
This week a British publication ran an article on Lt Harry Coleburn and the bear cub he bought in Canada for C$20 in 1914,which eventually inspired AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh,a franchise now worth £3 billion per annum. Seeing that the real Winnie (his real name) was donated to London zoo, a new book by Coleburn's great-granddaughter may be the first windfall that the family have had from it all.
The death last December of Don Lusk (over 100 years old) who worked on the animation of Bambi, Fantasia and other Disney films is also a reminder of more innocent times when children didn't need to see someone getting dismembered or beheaded on screen in order to be entertained.
Today I came across a 1970s coffee-table book, in immaculate condition, a companion to 'Jesus Of Nazareth', full of stills from the film (someone might point out that this was actually made for tv, but I'm sure most of us have seen it as a movie on reel,VCR,DVD or whatever), with text by William Barclay a famous Protestant Scottish theologian whose scripture commentaries became respectable among orthodox Catholics after the endorsement of (Ven) Fulton Sheen. I can remember similar books coming out at the time of Mel Gibson's Passion, either endorsed by the production like this or published by churches hoping to pick up on the popularity, one by a Catholic priest explaining the more mystical bits to Christians who knew nothing of Katherine Emmerick or Mary of Ágreda.
In this one Barclay points out in his forward "for long in the English-speaking countries learning has been by the way of the book and the written word. More and more this has been changing until the method of learning has been through the picture. In the film and in the book the story of Jesus is told simply and straightforwardly". He mentions "it may well be that there are some who think it is an irreverence to make the life (of Christ) into a film..". Bizarre, considering this was the decade of David Essex in Godspell and Lloyd-Webber's Superstar.
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Post by Tomas on Feb 11, 2019 21:04:04 GMT
Fine to still see this thread pop up now and again. I missed that Mary Poppins film just around Christmas because when we were considering going to the movies my thought or rather guesses was it had nothing on any interest. Would have done otherwise after what you wrote above Maolsheachlann.
The coffee table book statement may be taken as right with a little spoon salt added. Loving the analogue I can hardly see film as superior format in any more permanent sense. Just the other week I read a book borrowed from the library on film and I am also reading an essay book by one of the most serious film critics in Sweden. If that makes me a book nerd more than a film nerd I guess I just have to accept that.
Now I have not been to the cinema for the last year or so but the last more recent films I saw at home were first the prize winning Spotlight and then the sequel from the team that made Risen, called Paul Apostle of Christ. The Boston abuse of Spotlight was predictable and not so special as film in itself but it pressed on and thus had (in my view) something disturbing to say on the silence culture crisis that prevented it from being hindered. Once again an "educational" film and only to be taken if one can stand that type of film making at all. Paul Apostle of Christ was ok but not much more, perhaps 2 or a weak 3 points in a scale 1-5. Risen on the other hand was brilliant I think. Maybe one straight 4 there.
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Feb 12, 2019 9:47:11 GMT
The coffee table book statement may be taken as right with a little spoon salt added. Loving the analogue I can hardly see film as superior format in any more permanent sense. Just the other week I read a book borrowed from the library on film and I am also reading an essay book by one of the most serious film critics in Sweden. If that makes me a book nerd more than a film nerd I guess I just have to accept that. I'm fascinated by the relationship between the written word and the cinema screen. I'm especially fascinated by writing about cinema. Someonce once said that writing about music is like dancing about architecture. I don't see why you shouldn't dance about architecture if you want to, or why the notion is absurd. But, at any rate, I think film writing really heightens the appreciation and experience of a movie. I'm fascinated by the "double filter" property of film writing: life is already "filtered" through the cinema screen, and then that filtered life is filtered again through the text of the film critic, film historian, etc. Strangely enough, this doesn't seem to make the experience paler and weakened, but-- in my view-- heightened and distilled. This is the theme of my poem "Vistas", which I posted in The Salon thread. I imagine most movie nerds would also be book nerds anyway. |
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Post by Tomas on Feb 12, 2019 19:46:15 GMT
The coffee table book statement may be taken as right with a little spoon salt added. Loving the analogue I can hardly see film as superior format in any more permanent sense. Just the other week I read a book borrowed from the library on film and I am also reading an essay book by one of the most serious film critics in Sweden. If that makes me a book nerd more than a film nerd I guess I just have to accept that. I'm fascinated by the relationship between the written word and the cinema screen. I'm especially fascinated by writing about cinema. Someonce once said that writing about music is like dancing about architecture. I don't see why you shouldn't dance about architecture if you want to, or why the notion is absurd. But, at any rate, I think film writing really heightens the appreciation and experience of a movie. I'm fascinated by the "double filter" property of film writing: life is already "filtered" through the cinema screen, and then that filtered life is filtered again through the text of the film critic, film historian, etc. Strangely enough, this doesn't seem to make the experience paler and weakened, but-- in my view-- heightened and distilled. This is the theme of my poem "Vistas", which I posted in The Salon thread. I imagine most movie nerds would also be book nerds anyway. Distilled was a colourful word for this special thing. I don´t see any problem either. When the film critic whose book I read at the moment were giving a lecture in my town (during the Bergman centenary mind you, and him being a Bergman pundit mind you more!) we had a talk during the pause before they should show one of the classic films, and I asked him about the American film critic Roger Ebert. Since he is going around a lot in the film world and have met many/most of both famous critics and directors I was a bit surprised he hadn´t found him that "relevant" as he seemed to be by your praise of his works on another occasion. Or perhaps it was just that he didn´t know him more than by name. The reason I bought one of his books then and there was that he had written extensive chapters and interviews on at least two of the major directors I have taken most interest in all categories, namely Ettore Scola and Krysztof Kieslowski. Up til now I have only come through Bergman (more than a hundred pages...) Scola and Truffault. Looking forward to what´s left. By the way he said that Bergman was a movie buff by enormous proportions, it seemed he watched several hours everyday in many different genres. I am not a fan and have actually only seen extremely little of the Swedish megaartist but he has always been like a cultural icon and I have always liked to hear about his doings! To his credit must be said that he apparently admired the Decalogue by Kieslowski. "Not so much the three colours, but the Decalogue…" |
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Post by Tomas on Apr 2, 2019 20:06:29 GMT
Catching up lately on the tv series Mad Men, season one... The casting and story on the success of the pr businesses that shaped society from Madison Avenue NYC grows into a typical smartly crafted picture. Liberal heyday and few religious hints yet. The most compelling might be the humane shadow sides of the protagonists, or the settings and well made items and colours of the times. Question while watching is also Why does tv series often become such megasuccesses today compared to classical film format? Has it to do with, at all, a contemporary lack of community and a kind of overwhelming fragmentisation of society? Are dreams of "another community" more appealing now than say the 80s when films still had the upper hand?
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Post by Séamus on Apr 12, 2019 5:56:15 GMT
Is Australian actor Geoffrey Rush the first male anywhere in the world to score a #metoo court win?
$850,000 from a Melbourne newspaper so far, and much more to come.
I don't claim to know about the truth or otherwise about the accusations, we can't know, but perhaps the media will take a little more care now?
Ironic that Rush's academy award was won for SHINE about a still-alive musician who suffered from mental illness. Whatever about Rush's starring role and it's portrayal, the classical musician's brother has always claimed that their Polish-Jewish parents were vilified in SHINE, similar to claims made about the accuracy of McCourt's Angela's Ashes.
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Post by tomás laserian on May 4, 2019 8:10:29 GMT
sad to see chewbacca actor passed on. even though someone else had managed to take over it. he could really make chewbacca speak without speaking.
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Post by Séamus on Jun 16, 2019 8:46:11 GMT
Vale: Franco Zeffirelli
Should be fondly remembered by all conservatives for his Shakespeare-based productions and for Brother Sun Sister Moon,to say nothing of JESUS OF NAZARETH. Many,but not all, of his personal views seemingly tended towards moral conservatism also.
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